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President Trump, the Jamboree, and Me

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I’ve worked with young people my whole adult life, both in Scouting and in church, so I’m very good at keeping my political opinions to myself—and certainly off social media. As I said in a blog post several years ago, “You’ll never see me post anything online that wouldn’t be appropriate for the youngest Scout to read, and if you want to know about my political leanings or adult-beverage preferences, you’ll have to ask.”

That said, I’ve had enough people ask me about President Trump’s speech at the 2017 National Scout Jamboree that I feel compelled to say something. Or a few things actually.

My first thought is that Mr. Trump’s political comments were absolutely inappropriate—just as political comments from a Democratic president would have been in this setting. The Boy Scouts of America is, by its very nature, an apolitical organization, founded to “to promote, through organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to train them in scoutcraft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues,” according to its 1916 federal charter. Beyond congratulating the Scouts on their achievements and encouraging them to continue to serve their country, there’s nothing more a president should say in this setting. (By the way, the jamboree included more than 700 international Scouts, making Mr. Trump’s “America first” message even more inappropriate.)

My second thought is that I HATE these presidential visits to jamborees—and I’ve been through a few of them, having attended six jamborees from 1981 through 2013. They are logistical nightmares that turn the program upside down. Mr. Trump’s visit required several program areas to shut down as early as 10 a.m. on the day of his visit, and many troops had to leave their campsites as early as 2 p.m. in order to get through security. And that’s not even as bad as the jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill where we had to do an extra mobilization because the president’s schedule didn’t align with the two planned arena shows. My biggest memory of that day is the Scouts who were passing out in the blazing Virginia heat.

My third thought—and probably the most important—is that the furor surrounding Mr. Trump’s speech has obscured what a diverse organization Scouting is today. Because Mr. Trump got some of the Scouts to boo President Obama, there’s a sense that all Scouts are Republicans. Because he talked (for some odd reason) about Christmas, there’s a sense that Scouting is an exclusively Christian organization. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

As Mr. Trump was speaking, I happened to be transcribing an interview with a Scouter who works with an inner-city troop in Massachusetts where families speak at least six languages. She described in moving terms how these children of immigrants are going on to become the first members of their families to graduate from college. In the past, I’ve interviewed Muslim and Sikh Scouters who have found Scouting to be a warm, welcoming place.

At the 2010 jamboree, for example, Abdul-Rashid Abdullah helped run a mosque set up on site, where kids of all faiths could learn about Islam. He told me later, “Through Scouting, people of diverse cultures and diverse faiths can come together and learn from one another, learn to respect one another, and live together.”

At the 2013 jamboree, volunteers at the Sikh exhibit helped 1,500 Scouts learn to tie turbans. “We had turbaned kids running up and down the slope playing Frisbee,” Kavneet Pannu told me. “The zip line was above us, and we could see turbans on the zip line. Some kids didn’t remove their turbans for two days because they thought it was the coolest thing.”

In our hyper-politicized age, groups of all stripes want to use Scouting to advance their own purposes. As Scouters, it’s our job to keep our purpose clear: to help boys grow up to be men—regardless of how they worship, who they vote for, or what adult beverage they prefer.

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13 thoughts on “President Trump, the Jamboree, and Me”

Gomm, Patty

Thank you for insightfulness. I am a lifelong scouter and I was upset about the way the President handled himself in front of a group of young men and women, some as young as possibly 13. I totally agree with your thoughts. I too keep my political beliefs, religion and adult beverages off social media because I live by the Scout Oath and Law.

Well written and thoughtful post with excellent points. I am disappointed that the President had an opportunity to inspire and to challenge but chose to focus on political issues in what should have been a non-partisan environment.. While the opportunity to see a President in person is unique, it does have a significant logistical impact on the overall Jamboree program including the shutdown of events as you mentioned. As I read Dan Rather’s and other posts today, I am disappointed that an opportunity for favorable image building for the organization appears to have been lost. I suspect that the national organization will have some real soul-searching on the pros and cons of future presidential invitations..

I am at Jamboree and was embarrassed and outraged at his “performance” last night. It seemed more like a politics rally for adults than a speech for scouting youth. The logistics were a nightmare robbing scouts of planned program time. A taped speech would be much better all the way around (especially for him).

We were there at Jamboree for the Scouts, correct? Would you have liked a taped message from the President or a live visit? How about your favorite band in concert? A taped performance is not the same as a live one. The experience would have been very different with a taped speech.

Good point, although the difference between seeing the president and your favorite band is that you don’t have to start lining up four hours early to see your favorite band in concert. That’s one reason I would prefer a live speech from the Oval Office.

A friend who was on staff (and had two Scouts from his troop in attendance) shared his perspective with me: “The opportunity to see the President is cool but I agree, it turned the schedule upside down and the Scouts chose to stay in camp rather than hit program areas for the half day they were open. Missed opportunities for fun!”

The jamboree page about the President Trump’s visit (which is still up as I post this) shows the extent to which the visit turned the schedule upside down: http://www.summitbsa.org/details-presidential-visit-monday. Of course, future presidential will have a similar impact regardless of who the president is at the time.

Security requirements for a presidential visit disrupts the Jamboree. A taped video transmission is a better solution that doesn’t affect program activities. Advance viewing can determine whether it’s suitable for presentation.

Reblogged this on and commented:
The bottom line of Scouting: use Scout Method for individual and patrol (team) progress, enjoy outdoors activities, follow your Law and Oath (Promise), have great memories, and make global friends.
#JamboreeScouts have to wait hours sitting under the sun for VIP speakers. Enjoy the moment, extract useful advice from Prime Ministers, Crown Princes or Presidents and forget politics, learn Scouts songs from a King, “work smart and smart” as Mike Rowe told us during #2013Jambo, and enjoy the concerts. At the end, shows are only short hours of speeches and songs. The best parts are many days filled with unique activities, merit badges, patches trading, and life-long memories.
Our #Scouting experiences are better if we remember that “A Scout is Kind”. The sun also has dark spots but we enjoy the shining part. Let’s continue our sunny Scouting Adventures.

I reblogged and modified the title to “Jamboree, VIP Speeches, and Scouts” to emphasize the lessons.

The bottom line of Scouting: use Scout Method for individual and patrol (team) progress, enjoy outdoors activities, follow your Law and Oath (Promise), have great memories, and make global friends.
#JamboreeScouts have to wait hours sitting under the sun for VIP speakers. Enjoy the moment, extract useful advice from Prime Ministers, Crown Princes or Presidents and forget politics, learn Scouts songs from a King, “work smart and smart” as Mike Rowe told us during #2013Jambo, and enjoy the concerts. At the end, shows are only short hours of speeches and songs. The best parts are many days filled with unique activities, merit badges, patches trading, and life-long memories.
Our #Scouting experiences are better if we remember that “A Scout is Kind”. The sun also has dark spots but we enjoy the shining part. Let’s continue our sunny Scouting Adventures.